A three-month-old Indian baby has been repeatedly catching firebecause of a rare medical condition known as Spontaneous HumanCombustion (SHC).Named Rahul, the baby boy first caught fire when he was nine days old.His mother, Rajeshwari, rushed him to hospital in disbelief, afterwatching her son burst into flames without any source of combustion inthe vicinity.The baby has caught fire four times since birth and is receivingtreatment for burn injuries at the Kilpauk Medical College (KMC)Hospital in the southern city of Chennai. He was admitted to thehospital with the most recent burn injuries on 8 August.Doctors say Rahul's condition could be the result of combustible gasesemitted from the skin's pores."The body burns spontaneously due to combustible gases emittingfrom the patient's body, without any external source of ignition. Clothesand other things nearby that are inflammable may also catch fire," Dr RNarayana Babu, head of the paediatrics department at KMC, explained .There is no complete explanation for SHC but some 200 such caseshave been reported over the last three centuries. There is not cure,except continuous treatment for the burns, according to Dr Jayaraman,the former head of the burns unit at KMC."20 years ago, we saw a similar case - of a 23-year-old man - but itwent undocumented. Several theories of SHC do the rounds but theyare vague and not backed by scientific proof. There is no special cure...it can be treated like a regular burn injury," he told The Times of India.For now, doctors say they can only ensure the baby stays away frominflammable substances such as matchsticks, silks, kerosene oil, etc,and also stays in controlled temperatures."An episode may or may not recur. It's like any other burn injury, withthe likelihood of scars and secondary infections. Plastic surgery is alsoexpected," Dr Babu concluded.